:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/DIQIDU6A5FFXLO6RFYMU3NOJTE.jpg "\"Without his mother, Alexander the Great would not have been the great conqueror\": Laura Mas shares the inspiration behind \"Olympia\". 1")
Behind a great man there is a great woman, it has been said before, something that can apply to existence and to the female figure that led to Alexander The Great to glory, nothing more and nothing less than Myrtle, his mother; Now, for her second novel, Laura More takes up the historical myth of this woman to trace, in “Olympiad” (Espasa), the story of this stubborn woman, determined to challenge an entire kingdom in order to fulfill the destiny she had in mind for her son, who will go down in history as the greatest conqueror.
In interview with Read, the author reveals what led her to write this novel and especially what motivated her to tell the story of another mute woman. In 2020, he had already published Socrates’ teacher (Espasa), her first novel, a story in which she also highlighted the presence and importance of a female character. With “Olympiad” repeats the formula and presents himself as an author who seeks to vindicate women reduced to silence.
“The first novel is set in the 5th century BC. C., the second in the fourth. The women were very quiet. These women of ancient Greece, despite the fact that they had a high rank, their scope was very limited to the domestic sphere, Olympias is an example. She coordinated household chores, but her status as the king’s wife allowed her to be a priestess and much more,” she said. Laura More.
Olympiadtells the story of the life of the mother of Alexander the Great, wife of the rey from Macedoniaa territory that has become a power of the Ancient Greece. But features a woman ahead of her time who overcame adversity and succeeded in leading the victor to the throne. “We are in front of an extremely complex, cunning, ambitious and very intelligent woman”.
The writer assured that this second title brings out of the shadow of a story written by men one of the many women hated to this day. But share this Olympiad He caught her eye with his overwhelming and charismatic personality. A wife, a mother, an educator who shaped the character of a child who grew up to be a legend among the great empires.
“The men of the time were afraid that a woman would shine with her own light, but you can’t say it in these terms because without his mother, Alexander the Great would not have been the great conqueror either. Not only for having brought him into the world, but for having instilled in him very good values, habits, even reading. Magno grew up with Homer’s Iliad, and his hero was the Great Achilles,” Laura Mas said in an interview with GlobeLiveMedia.
The author reveals all this fascination which made him plunge into a world of four centuries BC. Nail Greece where religion was very present”,they had gods for practically everything. They frequently went to the oracles, the most referenced and the most important, the oracle of delphi”. Of Olympiadhe was captivated by its provenance close to Epirusbut also its proximity to the Oracle of Zeus.
Where does Olimpia’s idea of son-centric greatness come from?
Before her son was born, Olympias had a premonitory dream that led her to think and grow up believing that Alexander the Great was not really her husband Philip’s son, but the son of Zeus himself. even. We must therefore imagine a woman who had this conviction about the divinity of Magno.
Can we say that you are an author aiming to save forgotten or misunderstood female figures?
Yes, of course, I have written two books focusing on women. But that doesn’t mean I’m closing doors. Now, as a creator, I also want new challenges. Maybe I’ll get into something difficult like giving the floor to a man, why not? Olympiad.
In the heat of conversation Laura She shares how, thinking about such a historical story, as an author, she can afford to intertwine certain elements of reality with fiction. and as for the creation of his novels, he immerses himself in arduous documentation for the creation of his characters, always respecting the story. Likewise, Mas reveals how the writing removed some corsets from his earlier journalistic activity.
Does the novel reflect these broken adolescences and this early maturity?
The story begins with this Olympiad who has just come out of adolescence. At that time, marriages of convenience prevailed and his with Philip this was no exception. The Macedonian court it caused a rude awakening in her on all levels, she suffered a lot, so she grew up very quickly, but with a lot of bitterness, because she had to compete with the other wives of Philip, she had to mature at a forced rhythm.
The Spanish writer shares for Read (GlobeLiveMedia) that he has even more to explore in literature, among his future plans is the exploration of his poetic vein and even the construction of a story centered on a male voice. Likewise, she said she was enthusiastic about the reception of Olympiadwhich just over six months after its publication, has already received comments from Latin American readers, so he does not rule out a future visit to this side of the world.
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